SCOTTISH employers have signalled they expect a modest increase in staffing in the coming quarter, a survey shows, with electronics manufacturing opportunities in Silicon Glen among those highlighted.

The report from recruitment company ManpowerGroup signals a turnaround in sentiment among Scottish employers, which had projected a decline in staffing in the previous quarter. However, the rise in staffing signalled by Scottish employers for the coming quarter is only modest, and weaker than the unspectacular increase projected in the UK as a whole.

Subtracting the percentage projecting a fall in their workforce in the coming quarter from that expecting to hire additional workers, a balance of two per cent of Scottish employers predict an increase in staffing. In the previous quarterly survey, a net three per cent had forecast a fall in employment.

In the UK as a whole, a net five per cent of employers project a rise in staffing in the coming quarter.

Jason Greaves, operations director of Manpower, noted employers in Edinburgh, Glasgow and central Scotland in general were “especially optimistic” in terms of hiring plans in the latest survey.

He cited strong demand for job candidates in contact centres, and in banking and the broader finance sector.

Noting stronger demand for staff in the electronics industry, a sector that has shrunk significantly in recent years, Mr Greaves said: “There are also more manufacturing opportunities for temps, and we are seeing some employers looking to revive the ‘Silicon Glen’ in Scotland’s central belt with electronics manufacturing opportunities. Although many skills were lost when this sector declined following the dotcom bust, we are noticing renewed interest in rebuilding industry there.”

But he flagged oil sector woes and a shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers in Scotland.

Mr Greaves said: “Scotland’s outlook still remains below the national average. Aberdeen is still suffering from the oil industry’s slowdown.”

ManpowerGroup noted the UK employment outlook had held up in spite of “a triple whammy of uncertainty - a snap election, the triggering of Article 50, and weak economic data for the first half of 2017”. However, in the context of Brexit, it flagged the UK’s need for workers from overseas.

Citing last week’s General Election, which resulted in a hung Parliament, it added: “Whilst on first glance the election uncertainty might appear unhelpful to employers, ManpowerGroup believes the shock result could offer hope for businesses who had feared the impact of a hard Brexit on hiring.”

James Hick, managing director at ManpowerGroup Solutions, said: “The election result throws into question the Conservative commitment to slash immigration to the ‘tens of thousands’ and double the [annual] levy on non-EU workers to £2,000. The simple truth is that some sectors will stall without skilled workers from overseas, which could result in the UK economy entering a tailspin.”